Port Orchard, Washington’s MOS GENERATOR spent most of 2016 and 2017 on tour supporting their ‘Abyssinia’ album. During a special night on the tail end of the tour, an entire set was recorded at Rebellion, in Manchester England on October 4th, 2017.
Mixed and mastered at his HeavyHead Recording Company in January 2019, Tony Reed, guitarist and vocalist for MOS GENERATOR, tells the tale:
“Many months after the European leg of the Abyssinia Tour was over, I was cleaning out my guitar case and found a flash drive that I had forgotten about. Upon inspection, I realized it was a complete multi-tracked live performance, date and city unknown. After listening to some of the banter in between songs, I figured out that it was from Manchester, England. I distinctly remembered that show, because we played a Mahavishnu Orchestra/King Crimson medley that night and I think we only ever played it live three or four times.
That wasn’t the only interesting addition to the set list that night – “Easy Evil” was also a rarity in the set, along with the opener “Strangest Times.” “Shadowlands” (title track of the future 2018 album) was performed at the show as well, and we rarely played new songs before they were recorded and released. All in all, it was a blazing set that focused mainly on songs from ‘Abyssinia’, but also included a well-rounded collection of songs from our previous albums.
The album title is a play on “Day of the Lords”, a song by the band Joy Division from Manchester, England. The cover of this official “bootleg” release is a tribute to many of the unofficial records I have from the 70s on infamous labels like Trademark of Quality, The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label (TAKRL), and Wizardo. In the early days of bootleg vinyl, they just glued a photo copied piece of paper on a white jacket and called it good. The inspiration for this layout came from a David Bowie bootleg called “His Master’s Voice”, one of the first bootlegs I ever owned.
Most of the time when I (rarely) listen back to live recordings of the band, I find myself remembering our performance as being better in my head than it actually was. That is not the case with this show. The set list, energy, performance and the right amount of risk-taking make this a show we are excited is getting released.” – TR
The single “Breaker,” track one on Side Two of ‘Night Of The Lords’, is offered today as a free download on Bandcamp.
Tony Reed also gave some insight about the song: “I chose Breaker for the teaser track because it’s a ripping version. It came about mid-way through the set and we were really warmed up and in tune with the vibe of the room. In the set it came after a Mahavishnu Orchestra / King Crimson medley that, in the handful of times we’ve played it live, left the audience dumbfounded and slightly confused. We thought we would follow up that prog-rock exploration with our best heavy boogie number. We don’t always include Breaker in the set, but I’m glad we did on this night.”
‘Night Of The Lords’ Tracklist:
Side One:
Strangest Times
Lonely One Kenobi
Shadowlands
Easy Evil
There’s No Return From Nowhere
Dance of Maya / Red
Side Two:
Breaker
On The Eve
Catspaw
Step Up/Jam
Electric Mountain Majesty
